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PGA CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 6, 2014Rickie FowlerLOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY KELLY ELBIN: The only player to finish in the top 5 in all three major championships this year, Rickie Fowler joining us at the 96th PGA Championship. Rickie tied for fifth at the Masters, tied for second at the U.S. Open tied for second at The Open Championship. Would imagine you have a great deal of confidence coming into the season's final major. RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to this week. The majors have been successful this year and the prep work leading up the week before has been successful as far as finishing well going into the majors. So far, going through the checklist, everything is taken care of and looking forward to kind of some final work today on the range and maybe some short game and putting with Butch to just kind of clear anything up and make sure we're good to go tomorrow morning. Now it's just rest and relax and get ready to tee it up. KELLY ELBIN: How about some general thoughts on the golf course at Valhalla; have you seen it before, and impressions so far. RICKIE FOWLER: It's the first time I've ever been here. I played 18 Monday morning, 18 yesterday. Other than it being a little bit soft, I'm sure it will firm up through the week, but the course seems like it's in perfect condition. The fairways are fairly generous, so as long as you're driving it decent, be able to play out of the fairways quite a bit, and that's going to make a difference on some of these longer holes. You may not be able to reach some of the long par 4s out of the rough. Having 4‑, 5‑, 6‑irons into some of these greens, you'd better be coming out of the fairway. So I think there's definitely a few tough par 4s, you know, 6 being one of them. The back nine, 16 is going to probably play fairly tough depending if the tee is all the way back, and 7 is going to be a big decision hole for a lot of guys. I feel like I'm going to stick to going up the left and kind of challenge the hole and I feel like that's a hole that can be a little bit of a difference‑maker as far as you can go in there and hit some good shots and walk out 3‑ , 4‑under pretty easily. Playing up the left and playing up the right side may be a little bit safer, but could be tough to make birdies, even with a wedge in your hand. KELLY ELBIN: What club would you hit going up the left side on 7? RICKIE FOWLER: The last two days in the morning, I hit 5‑wood and then 4‑iron yesterday. So just depending on how you hit it. Obviously out of the fairway, you'll be able to go for it. Out of the rough, most likely it will be just kind of chipping it back over to the other side and take your wedge in from there. It would be anywhere, I would say maybe 5‑iron at the very least for me, and 5‑wood at the most. Q. I know you've told this story many times, but for those of us who have not heard it, can you talk about your decision to go with Butch and your decision to concentrate on the majors this year? RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, so it started a little over a year ago that I first hit balls with Butch over at The Open Championship. Just got to a point where‑‑ I missed the cut over there and felt like I wasn't really getting anything out of my game. Confidence wasn't there, and I was still dealing with a little bit of back issues. So with the time that I spent in the gym and then getting with Butch to work on proper fundamentals throughout the swing and getting everything working efficiently and properly, we've been able to clear that up and it's nice to be able to be swinging pain‑free. Butch and I started working full‑time in December, and it's been a bit of a process. You know, missing cuts early was definitely tough. I felt like I was hitting a lot of good golf shots and wasn't really producing anything. Short game was off and wasn't making crucial, momentum puts. Got a few things going in the Match Play and go on from there. The main focus was to be ready to play the majors, and it was nice to take care of business at the Masters and kind of go from there. Q. You're the only player with Top‑5 finishes in each of the majors so far this season; would you credit that to Butch or what is the secret that you would divulge? RICKIE FOWLER: Butch has been a big influence this year, being with him on a mental and a physical side, with what we've done with the golf swing to make it more efficient and more repetitive and a little bit less dependent on timing. Outside of that, the prep work that my caddie and I have done, kind of talking with Butch leading up to majors; but playing and playing well the weeks before, taking those weeks seriously as far as going through a checklist to make sure I was very well prepared, making sure that the game was on point and where I wanted it; if there was any low point, it gave me a chance to work on that in competition and work things out and get ready for that following week. So that's probably been the biggest thing is just the process and the prep work along with Butch. Q. You mentioned making your swing more efficient, which you obviously have done. What about Butch's mental impact? He's been around a lot, seen a lot; how much has his wisdom played into your improved play? RICKIE FOWLER: Well, like you said, Butch has been around for a while. He's taken a couple guys to world No.1 and he's got quite a few majors in his name. As far as being a coach, he's been there and seen it all. He's someone that when he tells me something, you can definitely trust his advice. He knows what's going on. And like I said, he's been there in any sort of situation. Nothing really shocks him or surprises him. And to have someone that's been there and feels comfortable in any situation, he can definitely give me some words of wisdom at any time. Q. Has the transition in your swing been along the timetable that you thought it would be, faster, or slower? RICKIE FOWLER: I was kind of‑‑ I went into it open‑minded, that it could be two months, six months, a year, two years. I was just ready to see what I was able to do with Butch and what we're able to make out of myself and my game. It was a bit of a process. Obviously I did miss more cuts than I would have liked to earlier this year. But I felt like I was able to learn a lot through the adversity.  Not that I was missing cuts by a lot; it was a shot or two here or there. It seemed pretty natural, and the flow of learning everything, it wasn't a struggle but I definitely have put the most work I've ever put in this past year. Q. When you made The Ryder Cup Team in 2010 as a rookie, was there part of you after that week that kind of expected to be on every team going forward, and how excited are you to be back? RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I mean, I didn't want to expect it; I knew you had to earn it.  But I knew I was in a position where I could go earn a spot on the team, and I love playing on the team events, coming off of two Walker Cups in 2007, 2009 and then getting to play in the 2010 Ryder Cup. Unfortunately, when I dealt with my back issues from '12 to '13, that was kind of right in the middle of trying to earn my way on to the 2012 team. Not a position I wanted to be in. Yeah, from here on out, I expect myself to be putting myself in positions where I'm in contention at the majors and then playing well throughout the year and hopefully not having to worry about playing my way on to teams. Hopefully I'm taking care of that like I did this year. It's been a lot of fun to kind of see where I was on the points list and actually not have to worry about that. I've just kind of gone out and played, and played well, especially in the majors, and that's given me an opportunity to be on the team. It's the first time I've played through the July, August, September stretch without worrying about trying to make a team. It's freed me up a lot. I would prefer to do this than sit here and try and wait on a pick. I'm going to see if I can make it on points a little more often. Q. You can't play defense in this sport, but what do you think you have to do to get over the final hump and win that first major? RICKIE FOWLER: Well, I've put myself in great positions. There is a little bit of‑‑ you may have to get lucky at times, but playing well on Sunday is key. I did that at The Open. The U.S. Open, I didn't play all that great. I didn't get off to the start that I wanted to. Obviously I was a little ways back, but if I keep putting myself in the final group, it's just a matter of time. I'm starting to feel more and more comfortable in that position. This year has definitely been the most comfortable I've felt in the majors, but I think the more that I can put myself in contention on Sunday, and possibly in the final group, I'll just get more and more comfortable. Being comfortable means more confidence, and we'll keep knocking at the door. I don't think there's a specific time frame or anything like that. I'm not going to push it. But I'll be out there giving it my all. Q. You go back a long way with Rory, Walker Cup, Quail Hollow and then down the stretch with him in The Open at Hoylake. How much do the juices flow when you go head‑to‑head with the world's No.1 and would you embrace that this weekend? RICKIE FOWLER: We had a great time together, from when we stepped up on the first tee at Hoylake, and then walking the fairways. It was fun to give him a little bit of a run at the end, but Rory drove it so well on Sunday, he was going to be tough to catch. He made it fairly stress‑free on himself. Since the first time we've played with each other in 2007, it's been fun to kind of watch his career. He turned pro two years prior to me, and it's been fun to get to know him a bit more the past couple years, being that we've been in the same events; when we were in the playoff at Quail Hollow. Actually both of my wins were against Rory. He finished second to me in Korea, as well. So I thought I might be able to get him to finish second to me at Hoylake, but it didn't work, so he got me. So I look forward to going head‑to‑head with him quite a bit more. This week is definitely a possibility. He's obviously on top of his game. I feel like he's driving it some of the best I've ever seen, not just for him, of anyone, and that becomes a definite advantage. If he keeps doing that, he'll be tough to beat, and it would be fun to go up against him on Sunday. Like I said at The Open Championship a couple weeks ago, it won't be the last time him and I are in the final group and going at it on Sunday. Q. When you were in the thick of the fight this year in these three majors, what are some of the things you learned about yourself either mentally or about your golf game that maybe you didn't know before in terms of building blocks so you can win that first major? RICKIE FOWLER: Well, if you kind of looked at the way I played through these Sundays this year in majors, the Masters and the U.S. Open were a little bit of a struggle. I didn't get off to great starts. I didn't play as well as I did the first three days, and then was able to build on that for the Sunday at The Open this year and shoot 5‑under the final round. It's hard to really explain as far as you can talk about going through the process of each shot, making sure you're prepared and ready to hit that golf shot. But everything kind of combined, the patience, feeling comfortable, being confident in what you're working on, your swing, your mental approach, I was just able to go out there and feel like I belonged in that final group on Sunday at The Open, and I was able to kind of fight off some struggles early. And to put up a bogey‑free 67 on Sunday, that usually does well if you're in the final group. But Rory just kind of drove it a little bit better than everyone that week and made it tough to catch him. Q. What's the greatest element of uncertainty when you're in contention? RICKIE FOWLER: I'm not sure where to go with that one. I mean, golf's so tough because you never know what's going to happen. If you look at Sergio last week, going and shooting 27 on one nine holes, and you could go out the next day and shoot 38 on that nine pretty quickly. You never really know exactly what's going to happen. You're not sure what bounce you're going to get. All you can do is really the prep work and make sure you're ready to hit each golf shot. Outside of that, you're not sure really what's going to happen. It's a funny game, but I think that's why I love it. You never know, one day to the next; you could go shoot 62 and the next day you're going to shoot 78, and you can't predict it. I don't know, that's kind of a tough one to answer that one, but you kind of never know what's going to happen with golf. One day you have it, one day you don't. Q. You talked about doing prep work. How do you prepare yourself mentally prep work‑wise? RICKIE FOWLER: The week before the majors has been big for me as far as going through a bit of a checklist, putting myself in a position where I'm in competition and I have to hit certain golf shots, whether it's tee shots, approach shots, getting balls up‑and‑down, putts, to make sure that I'm doing everything how I want to be, starting the ball on line in any situation. If I'm starting the ball where I want to, hard to really argue that, and I can go to the next week knowing that I'm hitting my lines and I can go trust that. The week of, typically we have a good Tuesday game with Phil and depending on who we take on that week. This year just happened to be Keegan and Brandon, and they were on the receiving end. That definitely helps, because any time you can put yourself in a competitive mode and make yourself have to hit a certain shot or pull something off, it prepares you for the possibility of doing that again. And being that we play games on Tuesdays and get ready for teeing it up on Thursday, it kind of gets the competitive juices flowing and then it's not as big of a shock when you tee it up on Thursday morning or afternoon for the first round. Q. So the process is mentally you're playing it before execution Tuesday in your game or Wednesday in your game when you guys are together? RICKIE FOWLER: I think the more you can simulate what position you're going to be in in competition, in contention or whatever, it may be Thursday through Sunday, the more familiar you can be with those moments, the better off. Q. My last question, your love of motocross, motorcycles, a lot of changes in elevations; any changes you would make to make this a great motocross course? RICKIE FOWLER: Well, I don't know if I want to go out there and rip it up too much. Superintendent might not be too happy with me, but I'm sure we could make a great outdoor track here. Course is in great condition. I'm sure the dirt underneath would be prime. Q. A lot of guys are happy to fly under the radar and not get noticed very much. You wear the orange on Sunday; what is it about your personality that seems to welcome the attention? RICKIE FOWLER: I definitely welcome it. I don't exactly seek it in a way. It's just me being me. Wearing the plus fours at The Open, I thought it would be a really good tribute to Payne, what he had done with the game, who he was on and off the golf course. I look at him as someone that wasn't exactly seeking the attention. He wore the plus fours because that's what he wanted to do and he wasn't really worried about what other people thought about it, whether it was cool or not. That was just him being him. And unfortunately I never knew Payne. I just hear stories from other guys that were around him quite a bit, one of the guys being Phil. Yeah, it's been a fun ride for me. Obviously signing on with Puma right when I turned pro, it's been a great fit for me to show off my colorful lifestyle as far as where I grew up and how I grew up, growing up on a public driving range and growing up around action sports my whole life. Not exactly the normal road that guys take to get to the PGA Tour. Q. You've proved you've got a great work ethic. How much of that comes from the influence from your grandfather, who I think introduced you to golf, and can you talk about your relationship with him, please? RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, so my grandpa was the one, he started taking up golf when I was about two and introduced me to the game as far as just taking me to the driving range where I grew up playing. That was really all he had to do was let me hit a golf ball and kind of fell in love with it from there. He didn't really have to teach me a whole lot or anything. I just wanted to go hit balls and learn how to play golf. But as far as my grandpa and my parents, they really kept me heading in the right direction. They didn't let me get off course too much and didn't really let me show anger or misbehave on the golf course or off. So teaching me that early on has definitely helped kind of through the development years, through junior golf and amateur golf. They taught me a bit about how to respect the game and how to respect others when you're out there playing. One of the main rules with my mom was if I broke a club, she was going to take it and I wouldn't get it back. So I made sure I kept all my clubs. Q. Question about another player. At this point in time, what impact does Tiger's presence or absence have on a major? RICKIE FOWLER: He still has a huge impact, especially on the media side. You can see all the attention with last week WD'ing, and this week, not registering, not sure if he's playing yet. I feel like I want to see Tiger around, but I want to see him healthy and at his best, and unfortunately he's not healthy and at his best right now. So I definitely would love to see him here this week, but I also would rather see him make sure he's back to at least close to 100% and comfortable playing on a weekly basis. But the game still does need him. He's a big draw. A lot of people still love watching him play. I know he's not going to be around forever, but I feel like a lot of the young guys with Rory and I playing well right now and Sergio being in the mix and Martin winning the U.S. Open, there's a lot of young guys showing their face and some people are maybe starting to notice us a little bit more, and maybe we'll be able to hold down the court once Tiger is ready to go. But he's still young. He's not going anywhere. Just hopefully we can get him back healthy. Q. Have you ever thrown a golf club in competition, and if not, have you ever done anything on the course that looking back, embarrassed you? RICKIE FOWLER: Let's see, thrown, probably wasn't that hard or that far. I had one at home in Florida I did just kind of messing around for fun. I just felt like it. It kind of shows you that I haven't thrown a golf club very much because I threw it with my glove still on my hand, and when you do that, it doesn't release properly. I think I was struggling a little bit playing at home and I didn't hit a great shot. I was just playing with buddies so we were all out there having a good time. I threw it in a Palmetto, so I had to go digging for it. It was not so much out of anger, it was for fun, and I had never really done it, so I felt like it was the proper time to do it and see what happened. Might be the last one. KELLY ELBIN: Do you have a feel of what the winning score might be this week? RICKIE FOWLER: I'd like to show you that on Sunday if I'm able to be that one. But no, I don't know. It could be‑‑ I feel like it's going to be double‑digits. I don't know how much. With the course being soft right now, just depends on how much it dries out and how firm the greens do get. If this place gets baked out and the greens are really firm, it could be less than double‑digits. A lot of it is just dictated by course setup and how the course ends up playing. KELLY ELBIN: Rickie Fowler, thank you very much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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